When the Moon Sang to the Sun
by Missy Mist
Summary: (AU). Winry is a Princess of the Nymphs; captured by humans to be sold and harvested for her healing powers and body. Despite being given as a "gift" to the Crown Prince, Edward Elric, she can't help but feel attracted to him. Is he the key to her freedom? Or is it possible that he's the key to ending the feud between nymphs and humans? (EdWin). Previously "The Sound of Silence".
1. A Nymph Gets Captured

**So I started a thing again. I just had an idea and didn't feel like waiting until my current story was finished till I could write this. Hey, well, look on the bright side! Now you have two shitty stories and twice the amount of updates to anticipate! Silver lining!**

… **.I just made it worse, didn't I?**

 **Disclaim!**

 **Also, I decided to take down 'Angel to my Devil' to revise the idea. I liked the original concept and still do. I just didn't like the writing style and the direction it was heading (seriously, reading it over makes me cringe). I was looking at the third chapter I wrote for it, and I just didn't like where it was going. I want to revise the idea and someday maybe rewrite it. For now, though, I have no plans for it.**

* * *

There was a time where humans and creatures of magic could cooperate.

There was a time when they weren't at war.

There was a time where peace existed.

It was the war that tore the races apart and it was the war that ripped friendships to irreparable shreds.

Once upon a time, all races and species lived in harmony; or as harmonious as they could dare while pertaining to their own territory. But when a prince of the most powerful human kingdom went missing, the humans became paranoid of the other magical races and lashed out, starting the war that would put peace to a standstill.

The magical creatures that were known for their powerful spirits and incredible God-given abilities, were hunted like livestock. They were bartered for money and those who obtained the rare and elusive creatures rose in nobility and rank. It soon became a sport and most of the magical races and species were wiped out by the sheer number of humans.

The Nymph race, in particular, were sought out for their numerous gifts; the healing properties of their tears, the blessing and fortune in their song, and the unearthly beauty that no other race could rival.

The nymph race suffered like no other. They were contained in cages and shackled to the floors. They were put on display like filthy animals. They were harvested for their tears and wings, which were cut off and collected as trophies due to the fact that they would grow back albeit with weeks of pain, through brutality and torture. They had their bodies sold and auctioned off like property to the most perverse and low of humans.

But a nymph was meant to live free like nature itself. Their weaknesses, being their need for freedom and their pride, became their inevitable downfall. The captured died off, falling into despair so great that only death could relieve them of their misery. The prideful remained alive only to suffer for the rest of their eternity; after all, nymphs _were_ ageless creatures.

The one satisfaction the nymphs owned was that the humans would never be graced with their song. The song of a nymph was a gift unlike any other; many incorporating blessings or spells or even bouts of good fortune. The only catch was that a nymph could only use the abilities of their song if they were happy.

After the era of peace transcended into the age of war, no human had ever heard a nymph sing and no human was ever blessed with the powers a nymph song could bestow.

 _And it was expected that no human ever would_.

* * *

Winry flew around swiftly, ducking behind the thick trunks of trees and flitting around the canopies of leaves silently in search of a way to slip past her guards. She was always a mischievous one; a spirit that was perhaps even more wild and free than her mothers' own, as she was constantly reminded. With some patience and a dash of luck, her guards finally decided she must have gone in another direction.

Winry could barely contain her satisfaction. Despite the enjoyed company of her sister, the nymph Queen, and her best friend, Al, she loved to indulge in the alone time in her mother's secret garden. No, perhaps _garden_ wasn't the word; _glade._

Winry enjoyed the sanctuary that it provided. It was a place that only she knew of, a secret that her mother had passed on to her. Now that her mother was dead and gone, it remained Winry's secret alone.

Her adoptive elder sister, the Nymph Queen Riza, took her in after the original Queen, Sarah, Winry's mother was murdered in the war. As for Al, he was the only male nymph in existence; found as a youngling, wandering the forest with no memory of his family, what had happened to him, or even his full name. Feeling sympathy for the lost soul, Winry at the tender age of eight, begged Riza to take him in. And she did. Al grew to be not only her best friend, but her kin; her brother.

Her delicate blue wings flitted with joyous fervor, making the sunlight shine through them like stained glass; _no_ , much _prettier_. The colors of her wings seemed to dance with every flap, transcending from dark, deep shades of sapphire blue to light, delicate silver. They truly were one of a kind, and she knew that humans would pay fortunes just to have them.

Entering through the undergrowth, the young nymph princess crawled into the glade and settled clumsily on a bed of wild flowers. She was a youngling; a young nymph by the standards of the others in their clan; only seventeen years of age. It was the explanation as to why she was not as graceful as her senior nymphs.

Winry didn't care too much about this. She was at peace. Too at peace, in fact. She wound up unwittingly falling asleep, unaware of the devastation that would befall her home.

* * *

The subconscious of the young princess soundly rose to the surface of reality. She remained silent as her elfin ears picked up the sounds of rapid armored footsteps surrounding her in the glade. Fear clawed at her heart as she realized they must be humans; only humans could stomp around so noisily. She wasn't stupid. She knew they would try and capture her.

Winry decided to pretend she was still unconscious, and fly away when the right opportunity presented itself.

"Well, lookie here, men. We got ourselves some nymph royalty!"

The gruff, vulgar tone of the man speaking made her heart ice over in fear. How did they know she was royalty?

"How do ya know if she's royalty, boss?" It seems as if she'd be getting her answer.

"Well Travis, look at her hairstyle. No other nymph wears that hairstyle because it signifies royalty."

With a jolt, Winry realized that he was right. Her soft blonde hair was loose save for the bottom half which was braided and weaved with small water lilies and marigolds; the hairstyle indeed worn by all nymph royalty. How had these humans gained such knowledge?

"Err...captain Kimblee? Should we really capture a nymph Royal? It might start another war..."

Winry could hear the sneer in the vulgar man- Kimblee's voice as he scoffed.

"Travis, you young fool. We've already caught so many of them that their army is too weak to fight us, much less start another war." Kimblee clicked his tongue in annoyance. "But, they might lose their value if we have too many...this will be the last one."

Winry could feel the wind shift against her wings, signaling that he was going to make a grab at her. In a panic induced state, she jumped up before zooming off, not once looking back.

* * *

Winry writhed on the ground helplessly, not having enough energy to throw off the net that entangled her limbs.

She had flown for hours, and while she was a fast flyer, they had horses and not to mention, _arrows_. The first arrow had caught her in the leg and the second in her right thigh when she made the mistake of looking back. Albeit painful, she managed to push onward until a well aimed arrow shot through her wing and pinned her to a tree.

She wasted no time in ripping the weapon from her wing, tearing a hole through the delicate, silk-like material. She had nearly cried right then and there at the sight of it. Nevertheless, she took flight once again. It burned like hell and her flying had to be reduced to a slower pace to avoid further aggravating the injury. She knew it was hopeless when they shot an arrow through her shoulder that sent her careening to the forest floor. The tears that pooled in her eyes started streaming down her face at a rapid pace when they threw the net over her.

That's when Winry began to thrash and writhe in panic, entangling her further into the woven prison. Kimblee and his men laughed and sneered at her, enjoying the show as the fight in her slowly died down along with her energy.

What would happen to her now? How many of her people were left? How many were safe?

A different man than the two whose voices she had recognized spoke up. "So what now boss? Should we have a go with her?" The other men chuckled and sneered in agreement. Kimblee on the other hand, was not amused.

"No!" He snapped. "Her maidenhood is intact and that'll make her even rarer with the added rarity of her being royalty. She is by far the most valuable to us, and we aren't to touch any of the nymphs until their virginity had been sold and harvested for all it's worth."

Winry choked down a sob and wiped her eyes so that they couldn't acquire her tears. They didn't _deserve_ those. She wanted to howl out her misery like a wolf would, and scream her sorrows to the heavens. She worried about her friends and family and prayed they would be okay.

 _'Queen Riza...Al...Please be okay...'_

* * *

After her capture, Winry was shackled and tossed violently into a cage. She had fought them off with renewed vigor; biting and clawing at their lecherous hands, and thrashing around savagely in their grasp. Anything to get away.

Winry eavesdropped on their conversations, hoping to find out where they were being shipped to. Apparently they were being carted off to some Kingdom called Amestris. The men couldn't resist the temptation to grope her or hit her with every opportunity that knocked. She hated them for it. She hated their filthy hands. Those hands had no business being near her, much less touching her. She hissed at them like an alley cat whenever their hands wandered her body or touched her wings. Those were sensitive.

Every touch to her wings radiated throughout her entire body. Interactions between wings were sacred; _intimate, even_.

She refused to cry for them. Winry was too prideful to let them collect the damned things. And she sure as hell would never sing to them despite their taunting.

"Come on, doll face, sing for us!" One of them cooed.

 _'Ha! No nymph has sung for a human since the war started! As if I'd sing for you perverts!'_

She decided not to speak; they didn't deserve to hear the sound of her voice. No, instead of replying to their taunts, she spat in his face.

"Why, you little bitch!" He wiped the spit off of his face with his left hand and slapped her hard with his right.

Against her will, her body choked out a pitiful whimper on impact. "Look who's scared, Envy!" Travis mocked. It was enough to make 'Envy' smile.

 _'Envy...so that's his name...'_

"Wipe that smile off of your face." Winry hissed. "I'll bet you won't be smiling about when I kill you."

They all stopped smiling and met her murderous gaze. Then they all started laughing clapping Envy on the back. "Well well, Envy! Ya got a fighter flirting with ya. You really know how to pick 'em!"

Envy shrugged with and threw Winry a cocky smirk. "What can I say? I like the feisty ones."

The soldiers howled in laughter at this as Winry trembled with barely concealed rage. Red filled her vision, and before she was aware of what she was doing, she lunged for him through the bars. She managed to grasp the collar of his armor and drag him in front of the cage bars. She could've strangled him, or snapped his neck. She didn't. The youthful Princess instead glared at him in warning and released him with a harsh push. Envy dropped to the ground in an ungraceful heap, choking and sputtering from the encounter.

The soldiers had stopped laughing long ago. The camp around them was quiet, having watched this exchange.

In embarrassment, Winry turned away from them to curl into the corner of her cage, wanting nothing more than to melt into the shadows and away from prying eyes. She wanted to cry. She _knew_ that she wouldn't. She didn't.

Winry didn't notice Envy peel himself off of the ground. Nor did she notice him leer at her menacingly. He clumsily unsheathed a dagger from his belt and stabbed it into her thigh. It lodged deep into her thigh, next to the arrow where the arrow wound was just starting to heal.

She howled out her pain to the heavens, clutching the bleeding leg. Envy smirked savagely.

"Oh? What's this? For a bitch, you have such a pretty voice. It sounds even lovelier when you're screaming…" He licked his lips maniacally.

Despite his disgusting words and the pain flowing from her newly acquired wound, she held her tears in. Envy didn't deserve her tears.

Unfortunately, seeing her struggle with the pain, he was only further goaded into causing her pain. "Stubborn aren't we? You sure are made of tougher stuff than I thought. Let's hear that beautiful voice of yours!"

Envy charged at her with blinding speed, socking her in the stomach. Winry haggardly coughed up blood, her wounds aggravated by the mistreatment. She coughed and whimpered, but she _still_ refused to cry.

Envy went for her throat next, wrapping his rough fingers around it before squeezing it unpleasantly. She choked out more coughs, clawing desperately at his hands. He relinquished his hold slightly; enough for her to hyperventilate, filling her lungs with as much air as she could take before his grip tightened once again. The gruesome process continued for mere minutes, though she could've sworn they felt like hours.

She wanted to cry. If it would make him stop, she probably would have. Instead, he demanded something she would never comply to.

"Why don't you sing for me? I would stop if you did." He licked the shell of her ear tauntingly. _"All of this harassment would go away."_

Never. She would never do that. She'd be damned if she let this man of all people hear her song. He seemed to know her answer from her silence.

"Oh that's too bad…." He licked the shell of her ear again, making her shiver in disgust. "If it weren't for Kimblee's orders, I would have taken you long ago." She stared at the floor of her metal prison, eyes widened in horror. "Don't look like that. Especially when you would have enjoyed it." He took sadistic pleasure in watching her cringe. He laughed in her face before slapping her once more for good measure and sauntering away, the other soldiers snickering and following after him.

* * *

Winry cried that night. _Silently._

She watched the guard posted near her cage nod off and waited until he finally slipped into a deep slumber. After being left isolated from another conscious soul, she had tried using her magic to pick the locks or melt the bars of the cage. It was of no use; the bars had probably been enchanted. It was a strange thought to mull over, considering that humans couldn't do magic. As to who could've enchanted them: she didn't know nor did she particularly care.

No, she spent the remainder of her alone time reflecting on the past few days. Like floodgates had opened, her tears poured out, one by one. Winry was certain that the amount of tears she shed could've cured an entire city. She didn't care.

The solitude was comforting for her. She draped her wings over her face, to hide her teary face. No one had to know. It was best that she only cried in solitude. The Nymph Princess knew that had Envy continued his assault, she would have indeed cried. She cursed her weakness.

The solemn Princess spent hours pondering over her family; if they were out there, if they were alright, _if they were even still alive_. Winry shed the most tears over these thoughts. She mourned.

Her body was wracked with inaudible sobs as she bottled in her rage. Those men had demanded she sing for them. The nerve! As if she would ever even dare to grace them with her nymph songs. Hell, she wouldn't be able to _call_ herself a nymph if she had sung to those unworthy baboons!

Upon this revelation, she decided to stay mute. If they couldn't reap from her what little she actually had control over, they couldn't win; not entirely for that matter.

So Winry sat silently for the last hours of the solitude she would have while conscious, mulling this over. She could actually grasp victory for her own, even if it was only a sliver of victory.

Those _nasty, nasty_ men would never hear her voice. Not if she could help it. Her voice was a gift and merely listening to even a word or syllable of it was a privilege. Winry gave a small satisfied smirk at her resolution.

 _She would be mute for the time being._

When they demanded her to sing, even if they tried to force the sound out, they would only be greeted with the _sound of silence._

* * *

 _The thing about pain is it won't last forever, and it kills you right now, but with time it gets better._

 _\- Eric Hanson_

* * *

 **I don't think you understand how much it actually hurt me to write this. Winry is my bae and it hurt me to put her through this. WINRY I'M SORRY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. *Ahem* I mean err...sorry?**


	2. A Nymph Gets Comfort

**Thank you for the few favorites and follows! I think I should get a few chapters out there to kickstart everything! Winry will meet Ed in this chapter! A little fluff at the end, but be warned! There is a part with a T-M rated situation! I hope it doesn't offend anyone! Mild violence and violation! Be warned!**

 **Disclaim! I don't own FMA or FMA: Brotherhood. I'm just a turtle.**

* * *

 ** _(Excerpt no.1)_**

 _Amestrian currency log:_

 _1 Gold bar = 50 gold cens_

 _1 Gold cen = 20 silver cens_

 _1 Silver cen = 10 cens_

 _1 cen = 1 cen_

 _Additional Values:_

 _1 Gold bar = 10000 cens_

 _1 Gold bar = 1000 silver cens_

 _1 Gold cen = 200 cens_

 _A cen is the common currency used in everyday life for average, middle class Amestrians. The value of a cen has gone down due to the amounts of copper used to make cens being replaced by large quantities of lead and bronze. Pure copper cens became rare to find in the year of XVII._

 _\- Edited by Kain Fuery, Amestrian Royal Scholar_

* * *

There was a time where Nymphs could fly the skies without fear of being discovered by the humans.

There was a time where Nymphs weren't hunted like prey by the humans.

There was a time when Nymphs and humans were friends.

Winry was calling bullshit on that last one.

She hissed as her injured wing was grabbed harshly and she was dragged out of that damned cage. The dagger dug deeper into her thigh and the wounds protested at the harsh treatment. She had tried pulling out the dagger, but Kimblee had simply stuck it back in the same place. Over and over again. She learned to live with the pain of the damn thing in her leg and it hardly bothered her anymore...until now. At least she was out of the cage. _'Good Riddance.'_ She was tossed onto a stage where four other nymphs were standing beside a podium. Winry didn't notice as Travis, the one she dubbed as 'coward', tied her hands behind her back roughly with thick, scratchy rope.

No, she was preoccupied. She stared at the other Nymphs in horror, with their frail bodies and downcast eyes. _'They've already given up hope...'_ She refused to cry. She would cry for them when she was alone and could grieve in peace. She could tell they were trying to stay strong. Luckily, none of them were Riza or Al.

A crowd had gathered in the stately building with tall white walls and ceilings and a huge stage, which she was standing on. She watched in abject terror as one by one, the Nymphs were bid on and plucked from their spots on stage. _'Are they...being bought? That means...they're being auctioned...'_

Finally, she stood as the last Nymph on stage.

A balding man stood behind the podium in crisp clothing with a small wooden gavel. "Now, young nobleman, do we have a surprise for you! We are in the very presence of Nymph Royalty! And with the most extravagant of wing colors on any Nymph we've ever recieved! This is a Princess of the lovely savages, and the starting bid is 15 gold cens!"

Immediatley, hands shot up to one-up the last bidder.

"1 Gold bar!"

"2 Gold bars!"

"5 Gold bars!"

Winry was so offended. Being labeled as a savage, and despite being compared to a savage, to be bid on as of she were made out of diamonds- No, to be bid on as if they could put a price on her life and worth- officially made this day her worst.

"15 Gold bars!"

"25 Gold bars!"

Then a raven haired man sauntered through the crowd. She looked to him, meeting his steely gaze. Blue met Onyx. Winry had a feeling he was about to make history.

"50 Gold bars for the Nymph Princess." His tone left no room for argument.

"I haven't seen this in my lifetime! This is the largest sum paid for any Nymph- No! For anything in this auction house! Going once! Going twice!" The balding auctioneer paused for dramatic before pounding his gavel with a loud "SOLD!" that resonated throughout the building. "And the prize goes to this young gentleman! What's your name, lad?"

"Roy Mustang, Captain of the Amestrian Royal Guard."

* * *

 _'This is uncomfortable.'_

After the auction, everything had passed in a blur. She could vaguely remember being gagged by the balding man- most likely to prevent her from speaking; as if she would speak to them- and tossed to the Captain, who threw her over his shoulder with a grunt. She hissed through clenched teeth when the small dagger was pushed up to the hilt in her leg.

It was rather uncomfortable with his sharp shoulder blade digging into her stomach constantly. At least his cloak was made of thick material that cushioned it a bit. Just a bit.

An older man with grayish hair and weirdly closed eyes stepped forward to interrogate Mustang. She felt Mustang's shoulders rise and fall as he sighed. "What is it, Falman?" He kept his hand on Winry's lower back so she wouldn't slip off of his shoulders, much to her displeasure.

"Captain, it's quite unusual to purchase a Nymph. Afterall, didn't you say you disliked these type of events?"

Mustang grunted in acknowledgement. "Yeah, but she's in more danger surrounded by those lechers. I know of someone who can probably take care of her in this shit land."

"Oh? Who?"

Mustang clicked his tongue- probably in annoyance at Falman's persistence- and sighed yet again before giving in. "You do know that it's our one and only Prince's birthday today, correct?"

"Edward? Are you sure about him? And won't it be suspicious if you just give him a Nymph you payed 50 damn Gold bars for?" Falman lowered his voice to a whisper and coughed nervously.

"It won't be suspicious if I 'give' her to him as a present. Afterall, I actually forgot to get him a birthday gift. It'll be the first year he doesn't get a gag gift from me."

Winry tensed at the thought of being passed on like property. Humans really were disgusting; even the handsome ones. Falman coughed again in anxiety and fell into step alonside Mustang, who had continued to trudge to wherever the hell he was taking her. An uncomfortable silence remained between the three souls, though Winry hadn't actually contributed to their earlier conversation. She grumbled in protest as the Captain shifted her weight on his shoulder. She groaned silently into the gag as his shoulder blade once again pierced her side. Falman gave a few more anxious coughs to ease the silence, but eventually gave up on his attempts to spur on conversation.

And then only the silence remained.

* * *

Winry was was shivering alone in her cell.

Following the silence, was a long trudge through the snow. Winry observed the snow in silent fascination. In the enchanted forest where the Nymphs lived, it was always Spring. Snow was entirely new to her. While she disliked the cold and the bland color that surrounded them, she was fascinated most by how the tiny flecks of falling snow had accumulated to a blanket to cover the earth. Fascinating.

They arrived at the back entrance to a huge stone palace. She had never seen any structure so huge. Winry's eyes widened and she felt an emotion that she couldn't decipher flutter in her stomach. Amazement? Curiousity? Fear? All of the above? She didn't know.

The Nymph Princess was then tossed into a holding cell by two different guards who groped her the entire way there. She had recieved no food, no medical treatment for her injuries and nothing to shield her from the cold. Her lavender-colored dress was ripped and dirty and couldn't do much to cure the latter. No, she wouldn't ask for food or blankets or clothes from the two imbeciles who stood guarding her cell. So she curled up on the sad little cot in the corner, bit her lip, and toughed it out. Eventually, she just draped her wings around her like a blanket. It would've sucked if she survived this long only to die of something as trivial as hypothermia.

She waited for hours, unsure of what she was even waiting for. Winry had watched out the small, barred window until the sun dipped below the horizon, and then continued to watch as the stars lit up the night sky.

The Captain, Roy Mustang, sauntered into her cell, unnoticed by her until he was standing right beside her. She raised her head to look at him as he flashed her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Miss...uh..." He stared at her, prompting her to give him her name. She blinked at him in silent refusal. He cocked a brow at her refusal, but again was only greeted with silence. "Nevermind." He shook his head and crouched by her feet, binding them at the ankles. She glared at him, burning holes into his head with her gaze. _'If only looks could kill...'_

He then scooped her up without warning and tossed her over his shoulder again. She hissed in pain as her injuries burned as he jostled her. The feathered end one of the arrows snapped against the impact and fell pathetically to the dungeon floor. Mustang either didn't seem to notice or he didn't seem to care. If it hadn't already been hilt-deep in her thigh, the dagger would've pierced her leg deeper.

She watched as her view of the stars from the tiny dungeon window shrunk until she could gaze no more. Winry briefly wondered if she'd ever see the stars again.

Mustang trudged up the stairs of the dungeon and kicked the door open. After jogging down a few hallways (much to Winry's dismay), he stopped in front of a room with a large set of extravagant double doors. The Princess rolled her eyes at the flashy doors.

Nymphs tended to live in simplicity compared to these humans; nothing less than what you needed and if you earned it, you could live with what you wanted. No Nymph was selfish, however. They lived harmoniously with one another.

It was funny, really, that those human pigs could live like royalty.

* * *

Winry was fighting like a wild cat.

She had never been more afraid in her life. Not when being captured, or at the auction, or even when being beaten by Kimblee. How had things ended up this way?

 _Mustang had waited outside that room for what seemed like an eternity. Winry eventually fell asleep and awoke, unnoticed by Mustang._

 _"Oi, Captain Bastard! Where the hell have you been? You disappeared over an hour ago!" Winry didn't recognize the voice of this person and decided that pretending to be asleep for a while longer couldn't hurt._

 _"I had to fetch your birthday gift. Afterall, it's not everyday you turn eighteen. You're a man now, runt, and I thought this would be the year I didn't get you a gag gift."_

 _"Bullshit! And don't call me a runt!"_

 _Winry peeked under her lashes to catch a glimpse of a handsome young man. His fiery gold eyes glowed with anger at Mustang. His hair was well groomed and matched his beautiful eyes. And of course he was tanned, toned, and dead sexy. Winry could've slapped herself for these thoughts. He was surprisingly short; probably only a few inches taller than her, and she wasn't very tall._

 _"No, really. Hold out your arms." The young man furrowed his brow, but reluctantly did as he was ordered. Needless to say, he was surprised when the Captain of the Royal Guard dumped Winry in his arms._

 _"What the hell?!"_

 _"Careful! You'll wake her. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you, Edward?"_

 _The Nymph Princess briefly noted that the man whose arms she lay in was the Prince._

 _Edward lowered his voice as he hissed at the Captain. "She's a nymph, not an object!" So he must've took notice of her wings, neatly folded against her bac- wait what? He...hadn't treated her like an object..._

 _Winry almost gasped at this revelation. Almost._

 _Apparently Mustang was just as surprised as she was, as he cocked a brow in curiousity, masking it as amusement._

 _"That's exactly why I entrusted her to you. She's safer here with someone who won't think of her as an object to possess, or a prize. If I hadn't done anything, she probably would've become a sex slave for some lecherous old nobleman."_

 _"Okay, okay, I get the point, dammit!" The Prince sighed before handing her back to Mustang. "Can you have her taken to my chambers? I need to go get some medical supplies for those wounds."_

 _Mustang smiled softly at Edward before he watched the Prince walk off in the opposite direction. A guard- probably starting the night shift- trotted up to Mustang._

 _"Urgent news, Captain! The Generals of the army and high ranking officers of the Royal Guard are being called for an urgent meeting!"_

 _Mustang narrowed his eyes at the young guard. He was a newbie by the looks of it. "On whose orders?"_

 _"By orders of the King, Sir!"_

 _Mustang sighed before handing the novice guard the Nymph. "Bring her to Elric's quarters as quickly as possible, then leave." He narrowed his eyes in warning at the rookie, for good measure. Then he stalked off for what was probably another boring War meeting. Winry catiously peeked up at the guard she labeled as 'novice' from beneath her lashes. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in his arms. While it was true she wasn't entirely comfortable in Mustang's arms, this man felt sinister. Malicious. Unpredictable._

 _He jogged through the hallways, turning many corners and darting into many corridors and overall making Winry feel lost. It was only when he turned a corner for the eight time (yes, Winry kept count), did he encounter another soul. Two guards fell into step beside the Novice, chatting animatedly about nonsense like where to get the best brandy and the best place to 'score hot chicks'. Whatever that last one meant. She couldn't care less about their mindless chatter. Until the subject turned to her, that is._

 _"Hot damn," The first guard cooed. "This Nymph is just so damn cute."_

 _This provoked laughter from the Novice who was still carrying her in his arms. "I know, right? I just wanna eat her up." The hand attatched to the arms that supported her legs began to roam her backside, carressing her pert bottom. Winry nearly flinched in disgust._

 _"I don't think the Prince will mind if we decided to have little fun with her, would he?"_

 _The Novice set her down on the ground, against a wall of the hallway. Winry stiffened as they drew nearer to her. She snapped when one of the savages squeezed her breast._

 _The crack of the slap resonated down the empty halls, bouncing off of the walls and amplifying the sound._

 _"Ooh, a feisty one!" Without warning, Winry was dragged to her feet by her hair. Ignoring her stinging scalp, she managed to shove off the hands that were knotted in her hair only to have said appendages held tightly behind her back by the Second guard. He didn't have any trouble restraining her hands; they were still bound with that scratchy rope. With her writhing to get free, the rope sliced into the tender flesh of her wrists causing blood to trickle out of the wounds and drip down her hand._

 _Luckily, Captain Mustang hadn't bound her ankles tightly and she was able to slide her feet out of them. But Her luck ended there. Panic welled up in her chest as the Novice guard forced her legs apart and lifted her up to let her body sit on his. She struggled, making her hips clash harshly agains his and he groaned obscenities in her ears, much to her disgust. The Second guard laughed softly while squeezing her breasts like he had done earlier._

And that's how and why she was here now. Writhing like an animal. Clawing like a wild cat. Biting like a wild dog. Fighting desperately to survive. The heathen laughed at 'how cute she was' when she tried to shove the Novice guard away.

Winry nearly cried at how helpless she was. The thought she was truly going to be violated by these men- no, by these monsters- made her sick. She cringed at the wave of nausea that wracked her body. If she had been fed, she would have vomitted.

Then, like a saving grace, a gloved fist smashed into the side of the Novice guards face. She nearly hollered in joy at the intervention. Her temporary triumph was replaced by surprise when she saw it was the Prince, Edward Elric who had come to her rescue. The Second guard dropped her in fear and tried to run away from the enraged Prince. Winry fell on her bottom and leaned against the wall for support; she had momentarily lost the ability to stand. Winry watched as Edward grabbed the Second guard by his shoulder and slammed his head against his knee. The guard crumpled to the floor and Winry felt a sickening amount of satisfaction bubble i her chest. The First guard was luckier; he only had his nose broken. It was the Nocvice guard who had the worst punishment. The Novice was kicked in the crotch and dragged up by his hair to look Edward in the eye.

"How _fucking_ dare you. Don't you _ever_ touch a woman that way! Not without consent!" Winry's heart froze at his words. _A woman_. He thought of her as _a woman_. _A_ _person_. Not an object, a _person_.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll give you all a proper punishment." The Prince then wasted no time in gently scooping her up and carrying her to his room. She was silent the way there and much to her surprise, so was he. Anger seemed to radiate off of him. It was astonishing how a human- this human- could feel anger on her behalf and defend her.

The next thing she registered, she was sitting on the edge of a plush bed, facing the Prince, who was illuminated by candlelight.

"I'm sorry, I should've taken you here myself." Winry hiccuped at this, unsure of what to think. Edward merely coughed uncomfortably, and asked in a gruff tone, "Are you okay?"

No, she wasn't okay. Maybe it was because he was the only person she had encountered who had cared. Maybe because he was the only one who hadn't treated her like a possession or a prize. Maybe it was because she felt surprisingly comfortable being held in his arms.

Winry began to cry. It errupted into full fledged sobbing, and she was sobbing in his arms.

It was surprisingly comfortable.

* * *

 _The thing about pain is it won't last forever, and it kills you right now, but with time it gets better._

 _\- Eric Hanson_

* * *

 **So that's the second chapter! Please review if you want me to continue! This is a new story so I'm not expecting much, but still.**

 **Please Review!**

 **Disclaim!**


	3. A Nymph Grows Bitter

**Hey so, I've been trying to find a title that works for the plot that unfolds later. I've found one, so as of this chapter, "The Sound of Silence" will be changed!**

 **Believe it or not, I do have the basic plot mapped out.**

 **Thanks to review** **ers -**

 **jaclynkaileigh: Thanks you so much! I promise I'll try to make it as interesting as possible!**

 **NekoGirl02: Here's the update, hope you like it...**

 **TheCandyChild: Sorry for not updating sooner! Your review means so much to me! I'm glad you like it so far, because I hate to disappoint!**

 **Vhosek: Your wish is my command.**

 **The Young Writer's Apprentice: I'm glad you liked Winry's character, because I saw a concern about her being a little OOC.**

 **Guest: Working on it, but I'll do as I please because a pirate is free.**

 *** _Speaking of which_ , keep in mind that Winry might be a little OOC for the first few chapters because of what she's been put through. Also because of other plot reasons thar come in way later, yo. **

**Disclaim! I don't own FMA or Brotherhood! If I did, I would make Winry like 69% more badass. Because 69 is the best number (wink wink, nudge nudge).**

* * *

 _ **(Excerpt no.2)** _

_Nymphs are creatures that were thought to be descendants from gods. Others speculate that they are spirits of nature. It is unclear what they are, though Nymphs are nontheless classified as 'Magical creatures'._

 _Observation shows that their tears are capable of healing anything from physical cuts or scrapes to internal bruises. Anything as common as a cold to anything as severe as a disease. Nymphs have been hunted down to be harvested for their tears since the war between Magical creatures and humans. After the war and the tragedies of it subsided, the Nymphs slunk into hiding. It was made illegal to hunt Nymphs along with Unicorns, Pegasi, Fairies, Sirens, Mermaids, and 11 other species of Magical creatures. Although the illegal poaching of such creatures continues unwarranted. Nymph tears can only be afforded by the fabulously wealthy or those invested in the underground market._

 _Population: Unknown_

 _Residence: Unknown_

 _Weakness: Unknown_

 _\- Excerpt from page 322, Chapter 14 'The Amestrian Official: A history of Amestris'_

* * *

Winry felt like an idiot.

Though she could regretfully admit it wasn't the first time. Her face burned in anger and embarassment. She had been weak. She had needed help from a human to protect her from...humans...

Oh but that wasn't the worst part. Oh no, it truly wasn't. No, that spot was reserved for the moment in which she cried in the arms of that human Prince...the moment that finally ended about a minute ago.

Winry growled softly and pushed out of his arms, more harshly than she intended to. He snorted gruffly before his eyes zeroed in on her wounds. The Prince reached out to grasp one of the arrows but she violently flinched away from him. She cursed her weakness under her breath as he narrowed his eyes down at her. He tried to reach for her arrow; the one lodged beside the knife. Damn, she had forgotten about those. Nice job, Winry. She curled into a defensive position to prevent him from touching the damn thing.

"Look, it'd really suck for you to survive this long only to die of an infection and your own sheer stupidity, wouldn't it?"

She growled at him for calling her stupid. Miraculously, he seemed to pick up on this.

"Well you are being stupid. If you die it's not my fault, it'll be yours for being stubborn." He glared as he crossed his arms over his chest. "So what's it gonna be?"

Begrudgingly, she had to agree that he had a point. She didn't come this far to die here; not like this. Winry slowly uncurled herself from her defensive position and turned to face her body towards him. She nodded in temporary submission but glared at the Prince warningly. The message couldn't have been clearer: _'Try any funny business and I'll use my pretty little teeth to rip your throat out, pal.'_

He returned her nod silently and grasped the arrow with a gentleness she was surprise to find he possessed. "Hey lady, this is going to hurt, but I'll try and do it quick." He didn't wait for a response- not that she would have given him one- before he quickly, but cleanly yanked out the arrow.

She could feel her injury sting painfully at the contact and she clutched the sheets beneath her fingers tightly. The young Royal proceeded to remove the second arrow before staring uncertainly at the dagger in her right thigh. "This is gonna be the one that hurts like a bitch." Winry could definitely believe that. He wrapped his hand around the hilt gently before looking up into her eyes. "I'll do it on the count of three." Winry gulped and nodded.

"One...Two...Three!" He swiftly and efficiently removed the dagger, eliciting a whimper that squeezed its way out in a strangled cry. He looked up at her, alarmed.

Before she knew it, his hand was gruffly patting and stroking her head, as if to soothe her. "Sorry, sorry. The worst part is over, everything gets better from now." His hand now firmly, but encouragingly squeezed her shoulder. "You did, good."

Damn, did she feel like trash. Taking comfort from a human like this. But she allowed herself to bitterly accept his comfort despite her grudging consience. She had experienced such a terrible past few days that she could allow herself this. And who could blame her?

He whipped out a bottle of cleaning alcohol and some hand towels and set them beside her on his bed. "Edward." She cocked a brow at him. "Edward Elric, my name. I'd like to think you have one too." It was painfully obvious that he was prompting her to give him her name. Too bad, he wouldn't be getting it. When it was clear that she wouldn't speak up, he resorted to asking directly. "Care to give it to me?" She merely huffed and turned her gaze away from him.

Edward growled and muttered under his breath about stubborn Nymphs and stupid girls. She had to supress the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

He settled for cleaning her wounds, his scowl softening slightly whenever she flinched or hissed at the pain. In truth, she wanted to howl out her pain. It burned like fire- hellfire- and after the rough days she had experienced, she was certain that she was in fact, in hell.

Finally, he wrapped up her wounds with bandages and sighed in relief, looking over at his completed work.

"Now, here comes the next hurdle; where the hell are you going to sleep?" Winry stiffened in discomfort. Notcing this, he begrudgingly put his hands up in defeat. "Okay, fine. I guess you can have my bed for tonight. But that's it. After that, I'll find you your own room. I don't think I can tolerate you anyhow."

She glared at him in annoyance.

* * *

Winry was pleasantly surprised.

She had awoken to warm breakfast and crisp new clothes at her bedside.

That in itself was _a_ surprise, but not _the_ surprise.

No, the surprise was that he must have delivered the clothes himself, because Edward had fallen asleep in a chair next to the bedside table. She knew for sure that he hadn't been there all night. Winry had experienced trouble sleeping and tossed and turned for hours before sleep took her. He hadn't been there then. But why was he here now?

Winry couldn't help but feel suspicious.

She reached out in front of him and snapped her fingers in front of his face to awaken him. After a few tries, it worked. He woke up with a grumble and a scowl. "Oh, you're awake."

 _'I should be saying that.'_

"Well, Nymph Princess, I'll have the maids run a bath for you and escort you to your new room so I can badage you up again." At this, Winry begrudgingly turned away from him, secretly eager for a nice bath. She doubted that the humans could find ways to compensate for the many hot springs they had back at the Kingdom of the Nymphs, but at this point she was desperate.

Edward gave a huge yawn and a stretch in his seat before getting up and strolling out of the room casually. Winry felt bitter at the small amount of grattitude that she felt in regards towards the Prince.

She continued to stare at the spot where he was sleeping. The bitter feelings settled in her stomach and left a sour taste in her mouth.

* * *

Winry was seething with rage.

They were sharing connected rooms. She had to shove down the impulse to mutter _'Just. Peachy.'_ through clenched teeth.

"Look, I don't like this idea either, but I don't trust those guards to let you off the hook easily without me around."

He had a point there. The bitterness she felt only swelled in size at this revelation. She took a seat on his plush bed with a silent, angry huff. "In any case, I should really bandage you up again." Edward got to work patching her up again, gently. "You sure are a handful, y'know? I should start calling you 'pain in the ass'." That one earned him a kick to the knee which elicited a string of _colorful_ vocabulary words to spew from his mouth. She sneered at him smugly when he wasn't looking. Hell, she almost sneered at him when he was looking, too.

She didn't though. Her attention quickly flitted from the cussing Prince to the jar of ointment that he set down. _'Ooh, see I knew he would plan to drug me.'_ She narrowed her eyes at the ugly porcelain, directing all sorts of vile and spiteful thoughts towards the young Royal.

Her glares apparently weren't as quiet as she thought, because in no time, he noticed the foul looks he was recieving.

"What's your problem?"

 _'You.'_

Edward followed the her gaze as it snapped back to glaring at that god-awful porcelain. He picked up the top for her to see and rolled his eyes at her shocked expression. It was medicine. An ointment, really. The kind used to cool burns. The kind used to soothe cuts. The kind used to heal torn flesh. From the scent of it, the kind Nymphs developed to fix torn wings. She blinked in astonishment.

Edward smiled grimly. "It would be a shame if those beautiful wings could never fly again. So how about we fix that?" He handed her the ointment and she sniffed it gingerly. So it _was_ Nymph medicine...

Nymph medicine was special. They were made from spells and sacred herbs that could only be found and harvested by Nymphs. What would it have cost to acquire this? To her, it was priceless.

He was talking to her, but she couldn't concentrate. No, Winry was preoccupied with more important things, like how gross it was for her to feel grattitude towards human. She felt grattitude flow through her shamelessly. And she hated it. Winry decided that the best course of action would be to take that grattitude and shove it deep into the back of her mind where it could die. Or better yet, he could have her grattitude. That way, he could shove it straight up his-

"-Ass? Pain in the ass? Nymph? Princess?" Oh yeah, she had tuned him out...

"If you don't want the medicine, I'll gladly take it back."

There we go. Better. He could do a fine job of his own on killing off that grattitude. Better. _Much better_.

Winry clutched the medicine to her body as if it were the difference between life and death. And given it's properties and what it could do for her, it might as well have been. She glared at him as if to ward him away from the precious medicine. He merely rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I guessed not."

Winry managed to reply with a half-hearted hiss. He merely smirked back. _'Bravo Winry, you've made an ass out of yourself. Point one for Elric.'_

Now came the hard part- applying the medicine.

She couldn't very well reach back there all that well. Especially not with her bruised, sore muscles and mild injuries. Like hell she would ask Elric. Wing touching was intimate. It was a small gesture between family members, and a sensual, intimate gesture between mates or lovers.

The Nymph Princess fiercely fought the oncoming wave of red that was sure to rise to her pointed ear-tips.

Who could she ask for help? No one. She didn't know these humans. They weren't family. Her eyes shifted with indecision before she glanced ruefully at her wings. That hideous tear wouldn't be healing any time soon without the medicine, if at all.

Her lovely wings. Like luminous panes of stained glass, with a delicate appearance of gossamer and the softness of silk. Strong wings that had carried her countless miles, relentlessly. And they had been torn by an arrow. This revelation made the young Nymph scowl. The arrow...

Nymph wings were hard to break, let alone tear. Nymph wings were as strong as armor. By all logic, it should've been impossible for the arrow to tear through her wing. The only explanation could be that the arrow was enchanted...or _cursed_.

Humans didn't know magic but could possess the power of curses if they obeyed or made deals with _dark spirits_.

This information had to be delivered to Riza. The Nymph Queen had to know of the power that the humans now possessed. But while she was stuck here, Winry decided it be best to investigate first.

Snapping back to reality, Winry gingerly scooped out a small clump of the ointment and wiped it on her wings. She strained to reach the tear near the center of her left wing. Managing to sloppily spread the cold clump around her wing- all the while glaring at the human Prince in warning- she decided to move on to smooth out the rough clusters of ointment. Winry only succeeded in smoothing the clusters around the contours of her wings.

Apparently, Elric couldn't take it anymore, if his groan of frustration was any indicator.

"Please, I can't take this anymore!" He groaned in defeat. "Just let me help you, already!"

She hissed at him in response.

"You are so stubborn!"

 _'I could say the same thing about you.'_

Edward rolled his eyes.

Winry snorted. _'Bastard.'_

He sighed running a hand through his tousled bangs. He mumbled under his breath about stubborn girls before sighing again. "Please?"

 _'Hell no-'_ So wait, why was she turning her back and wings to him? _'Dammit.'_

Drawing out that unexpected gentleness again, he began to caress her wings, spreading and smoothing the ointment evenly. She shivered,causing him to mutter a small apology. Unbeknownst to him, it wasn't the coldness of the ointment or the tear that was constantly throbbing; no, it was his light touches that seemed to resonate throughout the entire appendage.

Winry cursed at him in her mind. The caresses were starting to distract her. The young Prince's fingers lightly glided across the panes of her wings and she hated it. She hated it because it felt so good. The rythmic strokes had her wings practically sighing in contempt. It felt good. _Too_ good.

What did it mean?

Family like her mother and Queen Riza- _hell, even Al_ \- had touched and caressed her wings before. But never had it felt _this good_. How was it that a mere stranger, a _human stranger_ , made her wings feel this way? What was wrong with her? By all accounts, this was wrong. It should feel wrong.

So why did it feel so right? She didn't have the slightest idea.

Winry made sure to berate herself for such silly thoughts. _'Bad Winry. You're looking into it too much. There's no point in trying to analyze something that isn't there.'_

But spirits be damned, his touches were starting to mess with her head. She wished this would never end-

"Hey, careful!"

Winry had ripped herself away from him and those heavenly touches and onto the cold floor. She couldn't believe her traitorous thoughts. The Nymph Princess swallowed thickly with the weight of her feelings.

'How _could I be so careless in the prescence of a human? They can and will destroy you, Winry. How could you forget? They killed your mother and father. They slaughtered the male Nymphs. They enslaved the surviving male Nymphs along with female Nymphs. They burned your home to the ground.'_

She glared at the human Prince before choking back the hot tears that threatened to cloud her vision. She wouldn't cry.

 _'They captured you. You are no longer free, Winry.'_

She made the mistake of crying before. She wouldn't make that mistake again. She wouldn't cry.

 _'You might never be free.'_

She couldn't cry.

Winry stood up on shaky legs and staggered away from him, avoiding his confused stare burning into her.

 _'He won't give you freedom. They're lies. All lies, Winry.'_

She didn't cry.

Winry gave him one last unforgiving glare before she bolted out of his room and into hers. She slammed the door shut and locked it. Those bitter feelings were inching their way back up her throat. Winry sat on her bed, with her knees tucked up to her chest. The bitter would settle and boil in her thoughts for a while.

She sat there, alone with only her own bitter thoughts for company, missing her home more than ever.

* * *

 _"The thing about pain is it won't last forever, and it kills you right now, but with time it gets better."_

 _\- Eric Hanson_

* * *

 **There's the third chapter! Hope you're satisfied! Sorry I didn't update sooner.**

 **Review please!**

 **Also, the song that inspired me to finish was _If you do_ by _GOT7._ You should totally listen to it. So go do that. If not well...you're a rebel. I like that. **

**Also, also, the quotes at the end come from a poem and will start to change to different lines of that poem as Winry and Ed's character development progresses. Later on we'll have Ed's POV as well!**


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